Page 22 of D’Vaire or Nothing (D’Vaire #44)

H er mood shifting slowly to jovial, Justice relaxed next to the goddess who shared her love of training.

Courage had many things in common with Justice, but their friendship hadn’t grown any stronger until Death had brought their small group together.

It hadn’t started with any intentions. Usually, goddesses united for a specific reason—Justice wasn’t sure what other things drew her sisters together, but she was only added when they wanted someone to make rules or keep the others in line.

It was irritating, and Justice didn’t relish the idea of constantly being stuck with the responsibility of convincing the goddesses—who had been left to their own devices by their long-absent mother—to behave.

But their group had formed accidentally.

Death had wondered how things would have differed for their beloved D’Vaires if certain historical events differed or never happened at all.

Eager to run with the idea, the goddesses had crafted an alternate realm and hidden it from the rest of their sisters.

Courage hadn’t been present that day, and even she was unaware of the project.

Of course, the damn twisted realm was frozen in time.

Justice was eager to see the next couple find each other and watch the sparks fly, but Folly had shown up and thrown everything into chaos.

Desperate to stop her, Courage kept close to Justice’s side, and they brainstormed constantly.

Justice was furious whenever the thought of Folly sprang to mind. The goddess had broken practically every rule they were given by their mother, and somehow, she kept outwitting them. It was humiliating.

Justice’s fingers curled into fists, and her lip twisted in a snarl.

Rolling her shoulders, she forced herself to relax.

She had to remain clear-headed if they had any hope of tracking Folly down again.

They had to find her and punish her. Only then could Justice return to normalcy and gather with her sisters to unlock their twisted realm.

Her first order of business would be to add Courage to their team.

Courage was reliable and honorable. They could count on her to keep their secret.

And Courage was intelligent, with a dry sense of humor she saved for those dearest to her heart.

With her on the team, they would have more options to keep the project interesting and far different from the realm where the Brynewielm Duke was staring at his other half.

He had a mixture of surprise and pleasure in his silver eyes.

“It was wild of me to get two different mates hired at Deck of Cards so they would meet their D’Vaires this weekend, but I couldn’t help myself,” Fate enthused.

Justice barely restrained from rolling her eyes.

Wild would be uniting a few dozen people in a single night, not arranging for two lonely D’Vaires who’d waited too long for the other half of their souls to bump into the men who completed them.

But Justice kept her lip zipped and allowed Fate to bask in her glory.

There was little happening on the viewing screen.

Heathcliff had exchanged numbers with his mate, and the other couple had yet to meet.

A constant state of anxiety and rage kept Justice on edge, and it was difficult to concentrate.

Forcing herself to stay in the moment, Justice unclenched her teeth, and her gaze strayed to her sisters.

Death smiled at something Eternity said to her and gave every appearance of a relaxed goddess. Which was why Justice noticed the second her demeanor changed.

Misunderstood and harassed by nearly every goddess, Death had long ago mastered the art of concealing her emotions and reactions.

But Justice was now one of her closest confidantes.

And Justice had adopted a habit of studying those around her for any clue of imminently inappropriate behavior.

She had never expected that of Death. The ruler of the ebirlloba kept her heart masked, but it was full of love for her spirits.

She put the dead above herself and rarely sought mischief.

Justice waited for Death to mention what had startled her, but she remained silent.

“Death, what’s wrong?” Justice asked.

The noise in the room ceased as Death turned to Justice with a mixture of compassion and alarm in her black eyes. It was the sympathy in her gaze that told Justice someone had died and their soul weighed on the goddess.

“For a moment, I thought the unthinkable had happened,” Death revealed. “The power flowing into the ebirlloba confused me, and I believed a goddess had somehow died. But I was wrong. It was a spriggan. The one imprisoned. I don’t even know his name.”

“Jowan,” Justice replied, her own pity stirring. “The first spriggan. His crime was being created by a new goddess who didn’t understand it was wrong to infuse someone with enough sorcery to make them a demi-god. Mother had him locked up before he met any of his brethren.”

Eternity rose, and a tear slid down her cheek. “The saddest thing I am learning is how many of those imprisoned were there for no reason. Can we find his body at least?”

“His spirit is rising,” Death said. “Remain calm.”

“Why?” Justice asked as she stood and summoned a giant sword that she strapped to the thick metal cuirass she wore. “Where is Jowan’s mortal frame?”

“If I had to guess, inches from the ward you and Courage created,” Death confided.

“Conceal your power if you wish to remain anonymous,” Courage instructed. “Especially you, Death.”

The ruler of the dead stared at Courage with riotous emotions boiling in her dark eyes. “Why would you single me out?”

Courage harrumphed and added an ornate golden shield to her back. “Because we will be close to many sorcerers, including the Imperian, who may be strong enough to recognize the unique rhythm of your ample magic.”

“Excellent point,” Death muttered sheepishly. “The Imperian is intelligent, and the memories of me crafting his former realm are molded into his essence. He couldn’t forget me if he tried.”

“Hurry,” Justice urged, her usually infinite patience forgotten.

Without another word, Death changed the viewing screen so it showed the broken body of the small spriggan.

Justice bared her teeth as she carefully bound her ample power and shimmered to the alleyway behind resort.

Around her, the other five goddesses arrived with their power muted as best they could manage.

Justice bent and allowed the tiniest essence of sorcery to land on the spriggan. He wasn’t just dead. Every drop of his sorcery was drained, and few of his bones remained intact.

“Folly,” Death hissed.

Eternity patted her best friend’s arm. “Don’t lose your temper here. We will scream and rage at the castle.”

The unmistakable signature of Folly’s magic was embedded in the tissues of the spriggan.

Justice stood and snatched the blade from behind her.

The cool metal landed on her forehead, and she breathed out a shaky breath, then she drove it into the sandy dirt next to her boots. It wasn’t easy to hold in her anger.

Justice hated corruption. But what pissed her off more was the lack of trail Folly had left for them. There was a nearly shattered corpse and nothing else.

“She didn’t kill him here. This was her dumping spot,” Courage muttered as she surveyed the quiet road used for deliveries. It was a Friday evening, and although a nearby resort bustled with people, the darkened street wouldn’t be full again until Monday morning.

“No, she siphoned every drop of his power,” Fate growled. “Literally squeezed it out of the man.”

“The terror is left in his soul,” Death revealed. “I felt it as he entered the ebirlloba . Do what you will here with whatever crumbs she failed to leave for us. I must return to my realm and attend to Jowan.”

Justice laid her hand on Death’s arm, preventing her from shimmering away for a moment. “Let us know if we can be of any assistance. We will return to the ebirlloba shortly.”

Death offered a quick nod, and Justice released her so she could attend to Jowan.

“At least Death will offer him some happiness,” Life said quietly. “He had no joy in his long existence. His sentence was unjust, and he sat in a cage for many millennia.”

“How is it we thought ourselves above true malice and evil when our creator thought it acceptable to cage people who’d committed no crimes?

” Justice asked. As the eldest of the goddesses, she’d spent the most time with their mother.

Yet she hardly knew her. Where was she? Why had she gone?

Did she ever intend to return? Was she aware of Folly’s depravity?

And the worst question of them all, did she care?

“I know not what I can say to calm you,” Eternity remarked. “Any wrongdoing infuriates you, and we find ourselves confronted with misdeeds at every turn. There are still those missing from their cages. While Death is tending to Jowan, I want to quickly discuss Tivadras.”

“The pegasus?” Courage asked. She brushed imaginary dust from her gown. “We may as well discuss it. Folly has left us nothing here.”

“Tivadras,” Fate said. “I recall him fondly. Every day, I swear he came up with a new prank.”

Justice sighed and yanked her sword from the dirt. “Those pranks angered people, especially Mother. It is why he was imprisoned.”

“Imagine locking someone up for fifteen thousand Earth years because they enjoyed a lark,” Courage commented with a shake of her head. “I was unaware that was his crime.”

“Death won’t speak of him because he befriended her,” Eternity said. “She’s had precious few friends in her life. Tivadras confided in her. He wanted a mate. I think he believed he would be banished to another realm or planet where he might catch the eye of a goddess like Fate.”

Fate pursed her lips. “A man of frivolity. Fantastically handsome, if I recall. A good heart. Someone who could see the value of a lovely goddess like Death. Yes, finding him a mate would’ve been an effortless task.”

“I think we should keep an eye out for him,” Eternity said. “But be warned. If I find him, I refuse to allow him to be put in a cage again. What I want is for him to have his dream.”

“I will find him the perfect mate should we track him down,” Fate vowed with a bright smile.

“It is against the rules to allow someone deemed a criminal to roam free,” Justice said, though her heart wasn’t in the words.

Courage bent, and her magic glowed around the broken body of Jowan.

“I will send Jowan to the Tier’llomen so he can be inspected thoroughly by every goddess.

He is the lone clue Folly left behind. Tell me, Justice.

If we had found Jowan here in this realm before Folly, what would you have done?

A man whose crime actually belonged to his creator?

Would you have rounded him up like the genuine offenders we have locked up in what we hope are now impenetrable cages? ”

Caught between the rules her mother had given her and the fairness imprinted on her soul, Justice stood in a dark alley and understood clearly the struggle Skeleton Lord Albrecht Ruarc-Daray had faced the day he broke free of his spell.

In a single moment, he’d changed history because he could no longer abide aiding a woman on the wrong side of honor.

Justice hadn’t been ordered to murder innocents or watched her mate be beheaded, but she was a goddess.

One crafted for a singular purpose. It was growing apparent that Justice hadn’t known her mother or her intentions. Or the validity of her own design.

It was quite a crisis for a goddess charged with ensuring integrity and lawfulness prevailed. Justice realized in a flash that she was overcomplicating the issue. In the end, her focus needed to be on the rightness of any decision. Jowan hadn’t broken any rules. His sentence was offensive.

“Jowan deserved a life outside a cage,” Justice stated quietly but with firm resolve.

“Look at you, Justice. Like me, you’re going wild this weekend,” Fate enthused.

“You don’t understand the meaning of the word wild ,” Eternity mused. “You’re both fulfilling your purpose to the utmost of your abilities. That’s admirable, not wild.”

“She paired two couples; if that’s the top of her skills, then it’s no wonder so many people are lacking mates,” Life drawled.

“A statement that could’ve easily been delivered by Death,” Eternity crowed. “Excellent job. Shall we return to the ebirlloba and check on our sister of the underworld?”

“Yes, we will tell her of our plan for Tivadras,” Justice said. “It will ease her worry; she carries too much of it already.”

“None of us will rest easy until we find Folly. Poor Jowan suffered the cruelest of ends, and we find ourselves no closer to our prey,” Courage snarled.

The rage that always flowed through Justice at the thought of Folly roared to life. She looked down the street, and her gaze landed on the resort she and Courage had warded to protect it.

“Do you think she discovered what we did because she was here to harm the D’Vaires?” Justice asked.

“It is possible,” Life stated. “We must remain more vigilant than ever if we wish to protect them.”

“Damn her,” Justice growled. “I am sick of her games, and she will pay when we find her. And we will. She is kidding herself if she thinks she will ever outmatch us. Or gain enough power to best Death.”

“If we are lucky, Death will forget every ounce of mercy in her soul and force Folly to endure every second of pain and misery she has inflicted tenfold,” Courage muttered.

“Well said, sister,” Fate enthused. “Now, let’s get out of here before we are caught.”

“Or someone decides to summon Fate and demand to know where their mate is,” Eternity snickered.

Her thoughts already on Death, Justice shimmered to her sister’s castle and was unsurprised that the goddess wasn’t present. Death would not find any comfort for herself until Jowan had everything she could provide for him.

What Justice found most abhorrent was that not every goddess was as empathetic or committed to their assigned task as Death was.

The realm of the goddesses would be far less dramatic and caught in the mire if their mother had crafted each of them with as much mastery as Justice and the five goddesses who’d grown into her dear friends.